Detachable building trim



Jan. 17, 1967 0. F. HABERMAN DETACHABLE BUILDING TRIM Filed July 17, 1964 INVENTOR Orwill F. Hobermon United States Patent 3,298,147 DETACHABLE BUILDING TRIM Orwill F. Haberman, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Haberman Painting & Decorating (20., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed July 17, 1964, Ser. No. 383,467

. 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-287) This invention relates to Improvements in Detachable Building Trim, and more particularly to a novel trim and holding bracket design for detachably mounting interior or exterior finish trim or the like on buildings.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide mounting means for pre-formed finish trim such as baseboards, moldings, .window anddoor easements, or even exterior siding, which permits the quick and simple removal and subsequent reinstallation of said trim when it is desired to repaint or refinish it or adjacent areas. Moreover, such detachable trim is especially advantageous in hospitals, nursing homes, sanitariums, and hotels and motels, wherein sanitation is essential, and wherein the removable nature of the trim permits thorough cleaning and disinfecting thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide building trim appurtenances and mounting elements therefor wherein said trim is held in position without the aid of nails screws, or similar retainers after the mouting elements have been initially installed, thereby making it unnecessary to use a screwdriver or other tool in order to detach and remove said trim.

A further object is to provide an improved building trim and detachable mounting assembly utilizing a novel retaining clip device which is completely hidden from view when the trim is mounted thereon, thus promoting the neat, attractive appearance of the building.

Still further objects of the present invention are to provide a novel building trim design and mounting assembly which is reliable, which is relatively inexpensive, and which is otherwise particularly well-suited for its intended purposes. 1

With the above and other objects in view, which other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter, the invention comprises the improved detachable building trim assembly described in the following specification and any and all modifications or variations thereof as may come within the spirit of said invention, and Within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein there is illustrated one preferred embodiment of the invention and a modification thereof, and wherein the same reference numerals designate the same or similar parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel mounting clip utilized in the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a baseboard mounted on a wall;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an in stalled baseboard;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of mounting clip; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view showing the clip of FIG. 4 in use.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, illustrated therein is a mounting bracket or clip of the type used for installing baseboards in accordance with the present invention. Said clip includes a back portion 11 having apertures 12 therethrough, and approximately one-half the width of said clip is deflected upwardly and forwardly at an angle to said back to form a projecting leg 13. Said leg 13 extends upwardly from the approximate vertical midpoint of said clip, and im- 3,298,147 Patented Jan..17, 1967 "Ice 2 mediately therebelow is a protruding shoulder 14 which is perpendicular to the clip back iface and which extends the length of said clip. Said mounting clip is preferably stamped from light gauge spring steel, although other materials could also be employed and the invention is by no means to be limited in this respect. .The principal requisites of said clip material is that it is thin, strong, and reliable, and that it have a spring-like resiliency, the purpose of which will be hereinafter seen.

In accordance wit-h the present invention, and referring now to the mounting of a baseboard on the interior of a building, a plurality of clips 10 are fastened to thewalls of theroom immediately adjacent the floor. As appears in FIGS. 2 and 3, said clips are secured to. the wall 18 with the clip back 11 flush thereagainst, and a pair of screws 16 (or nails or other fasteners) are projected through the aforementioned apertures 12 in said clip back portion and into the wall. It has been found that spacing said clips at intervals of about two feet provides excellent results, although this can be varied to suit particular requirements. In many buildings, for example, the building studs are spaced sixteen inches, and in such structures the clips 10 are preferably secured thereto.

The baseboard 20 is formed of wood or other suitable material and in accordance with standard practice it has i a continuous shallow cutout 21 milled in its back face to minimize warping. In accordance with the present invention, said baseboard is also provided with a forwardlyextending, continuous horizontal cutout or recess 22 which is of a size to closely receive the protruding horizontal shoulder 14 on said clips, and a second longitudinal recess 23 extends upwardly and outwardly of the back face of said baseboard at an acute angle relative to said back face of said baseboard to receive the aforementioned angled leg 13 on said clips. It will be noted that the latter recess is slightly larger than said clip leg 13 to permit a certain amount of play therebetween.

To install the baseboard 20, said baseboard is manually board reeesses 23 and 22, the horizontal shoulders 14 on the clips are normally prevented from entering the baseboard recess 22, and in order to insert said clip shoulders therein it is necessary to forcibly deflect said clip legs 13, thus providing a snap-on type mounting. This is permitted by the spring-like flexibility of said clips, as here inabove mentioned, and when the baseboard has been snapped onto the clip shoulders said resilient clip legs 13 maintain the same in place by spring tension. This is a critical feature of the present invention.

A further important feature of the present sruct-ure is that when the baseboard has been installed as described, it is not only seated on the floor but it is flush against the wall and the clips 10 are completely covered and hidden from view, thus providing a baseboard which is neat and attractive in appearance. Heretoiore, it has been the comm-on practice to merely nail the baseboard to the wall, which either results in unsightly nail heads, or necessitates the time consuming and tedious chore of setting said nails deeper in the wood and then covering said d pressions with a putty-like material.

To remove the baseboard 20 in the present invention in order to thoroughly sanitize the room, or if it is intended to repaint or replace the same, or to paint the adjacent areas and it is desired to eliminate the necessary clean up in the event the paint runs down onto said the spring-like clip legs 13 yielding to permit said removal. After the repainting or other renovation, the baseboards may be remounted on the clips merely by again snapping the same thereon as hereina'bove described.

It is to be understood that while the novel coacting spring clip and grooved trim has been described herein as applied to baseboards for the interior of buildings, the invention is by no means limited in this respect. For example, said clips could be turned 90 and arranged in vertically-spaced relation for mounting vertical moldings or the like. It is also possible to use a slighlty modified form of clip and trim design to provide means for removably mounting a casing to a transverse ja-mb, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The modified form of mounting clip 30 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a flat back member 31 having a pair of space-d apertures 32 therethrough, and having a lower leg portion 33 angled outwardly as shown. Intermediate the length of said clip is an outwardly projecting vertical shoulder 34, and projecting rearwardly from the back 31 at an angle slightly greater than 90 is a fiat portion 34.

In the use of the clip 30, the jamb 42 (FIG. 5) is provided with a continuous longitudinal recess 43, and after said jam-b has been nailed in place the clip 30 is positioned as illustrated and screws or nails are projected through the clip apertures 32 and into the wall (not shown) to secure said clip in place. The casing 37 may then be detachably mounted thereon merely by slipping in onto the angled clip leg 33, and forcing said casing inwardly to snap the same onto the clip shoulder 34, in the same manner as described hereina'bove wit-h respect to the baseboard mounting assembly. Once the casing is installed it is held in position by spring tension.

In addition to the use of the present invention for interior building trim, such as baseboards, molding strips, window and door easements, etc., it is also contemplated that the invention will find considerable use in the application of wall paneling and =facings, and even for the installation of siding and the like on the exterior of buildings. In the latter respect, the same general type of clip and board assembly can be utilized but in most instances .it will the preferred to use a slightly larger clip. However, the size and the particular design of the coacting clips and trim members are not critical to the present invention. What is intended to be covered herein is the general concept of the novel building trim design and coacti-n-g spring-like bracket or clip whereby said trim is securely retained in position, but wherein it can be quickly and easily detached and removed when desired, and without the use of any special tools or equipment.

In addition to the modified form of the Present invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, and in addition to the other possible uses hereina bove mentioned, it is contemplated that numerous other variations in the invention will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended to include herein not only the forms of the invention illustrated and described, but also any and all modifications and variations thereof. as may come within the spirit of said invention and within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A detachable building trim assembly, comprising: an elongated trim board having a back face with a forwardly-extending horizontal recess formed therein, and having a second recess formed therein at an acute angle relative to said first mentioned recess; and a plurality of mounting clips formed of a resilient spring-like material secured in spaced relation on a wall, each of said clips having a forwardly-protruding shoulder disposed within said board horizontal recess, and said clip having a leg thereon projecting outwardly at an angle and disposed within said "board acute ang'e recess, said recesses being so arranged that when said trim board is positioned with said angled clip leg inserted in said angled recess said board must be forcibly snapped onto said clip for weirdly-protruding shoulder, the resilient nature of said clip permitting the necessary deflection of said angled leg and also providing spring tension to detachably retain said board in position thereon.

2. A detachable building trim assembly, comprising: an elongated trim board having a back face with a horizontal recess formed therein, and having another longitudinal recess extending at an acute angle relative to said back face; and a plurality of mounting clips formed of a resilient spring-like material secured in spaced relation on a wall, each of said clips having a flat back with a pair of apertures therein through which retaining elements may be projected to secure said clip to a wall, having a forwardly-protruding shoulder formed therein disposed within said board horizontal recess, and said clip having a leg thereon projecting outwardly at an angle relative to said back and disposed within said board angled recess, said recesses being so arranged that when said trim board is positioned with said angled clip leg inserted in said angled recess said board must be forcibly snapped onto said clip forwardly-protruding shoulder, the spring-like nature of said clip permitting the necessary deflection of said angled leg and also previd'ng spring tension to detachably retain said board in position thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,810,229 6/1931 Stirrup 248223 2,313,839 3/1943 Olsen 52242 2,878,845 3/1959 Hale 52718 X FOREIGN PATENTS 231,382 1959 Australia.

83,636 1920 Switzerland.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

JOHN E. MURTAGH, Examiner. 

1. A DETACHABLE BUILDING TRIM ASSEMBLY, COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED TRIM BOARD HAVING A BACK FACE WITH A FORWARDLY-EXTENDING HORIZONTAL RECESS FORMED THEREIN, AND HAVING A SECOND RECESS FORMED THEREIN AT AN ACUTE ANGLE RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST MENTIONED RECESS; AND A PLURALITY OF MOUNTING CLIPS FORMED OF A RESILIENT SPRING-LIKE MATERIAL SECURED IN SPACED RELATION ON A WALL, EACH OF SAID CLIPS HAVING A FORWARDLY-PROTRUDING SHOULDER DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BOARD HORIZONTAL RECESS, AND SAID CLIP HAVING A LEG THEREON PROJECTING OUTWADLY AT AN ANGLE AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BOARD ACUTE ANGLE RECESS, SAID RECESSES BEING SO ARRANGED THAT WHEN SAID TRIM BOARD IS POSITIONED WITH SAID ANGLED CLIP LEG INSERTED IN SAID ANGLED RECESS SAID BOARD MUST BE FORCIBLY SNAPPED ONTO SAID CLIP FORWARDLY-PROTRUDING SHOULDER, THE RESILIENT NATURE OF SAID CLIP PERMITTING THE NECESSARY DEFLECTION OF SAID ANGLED LEG AND ALSO PROVIDING SPRING TENSION TO DETACHABLY RETAIN SAID BOARD IN POSITION THEREON. 